The Amon Carter Museum of American Art (the Carter) will present Black Photojournalism from March 15 to July 5, 2026. Organized by Carnegie Museum of Art, the exhibition brings together more than 250 works by over 60 photographers active between 1945 and the mid-1980s. It highlights the groundbreaking role of Black photojournalists in documenting pivotal historical events and the everyday lives of Black Americans.
“This exhibition continues the Carter’s mission to share a fuller picture of American art,” said Scott Wilcox, Interim Director. “It honors the artistry of these photographers while amplifying stories often overlooked in mainstream media.”
From the rise of Black-owned media after World War II through the civil rights era and beyond, the photographs show how Black photojournalists shaped both history and self-representation. Their images captured social change as well as the richness of daily life, using photography as both record and empowerment.
Curator Charles Wylie noted, “Black Photojournalism offers an unprecedented view of how Black photographers documented their communities in the decades following World War II. Visitors will see how figures such as Kwame Brathwaite, Gordon Parks, Ming Smith, and Shawn Walker created images that now stand as both journalism and art.”
Drawn from archives nationwide, the exhibition includes work published in outlets like the Afro American News, Atlanta Daily World, Chicago Defender, Ebony, and Pittsburgh Courier. Chronologically organized, the show moves through:
- 1940s–1950s: America After the War — Postwar hopes, inequities, and community life documented by photographers such as Austin Hansen, Charles “Teenie” Harris, Moneta Sleet Jr., and Gordon Parks.
- 1960s: Black Is Beautiful — Civil rights milestones and everyday resilience captured by Guy Crowder, Chester Higgins, and Ernest Withers.
- 1970s: Can You Dig It? — Cultural innovation and political action reflected in the work of Kwame Brathwaite and Ming Smith.
- 1980s: Keep Hope Alive — Complex realities of the decade recorded by Adger Cowans, Bruce Talamon, and Deborah Willis-Ryan.
The Carter’s presentation will also feature a Fort Worth focus, highlighting local Black newspapers and media through a partnership with the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society. Public programs will explore North Texas’s own Black press and its role in documenting community life.
Designed by artist David Hartt, Black Photojournalism was co-organized by Carnegie Museum of Art curators Dan Leers and Charlene Foggie-Barnett, alongside scholars and archivists. The project is supported in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
